A guide to where to poop while out and about primarily in and around Boston, MA.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Walden Pond - Concord, MA

Walden Pond - 7.0Walden Pond is one of Boston's least talked about attractions. Made famous by Henry David Thoreau's transcendental experiment in the 1840's (c'mon, you remember 11th grade English class, don't you?), Walden Pond is a state park with a kettlehole and miles of walking trails. Walden Pond is one of two kettle pond's in Boston, bonus points to the first person to name the other, leave the answer in the comments section or email the Shit Critic. Anyway, Walden Pond was also one of the more popular summer destinations for Boston residents at the turn of the century. Walden Pond is located at 915 Walden Street in Concord, MA, about a 15 or so minute drive from Boston proper.

Location: After parking your car, there is a restroom located by the park headquarters and gift shop. It's pretty easy to find, one of the only buildings you will see from the parking lot.Grade: 8 out of 10

Accessibility: Aside from paying $5 to park there if you're driving, you could easily walk right into the area where the restrooms are. All in all, this is pretty easy.Grade: 9 out of 10

Number of Stalls: There was only one stall here, along with some urinal action. We (yes, the royal "we"!) would always like to see at least two stalls.Grade: 4 out of 10

Stall Quality: Have you ever been to a beach and used their toilet? This stall had a similar type of set up and feel to that. Nothing fancy, a place to do some business. Anyway, the toilet is a bit odd in that there is no water and just a tube. It all feeds into a recycling system of sorts, check out the diagram below for more info.Grade: 7 out of 10

Toiler Paper: The toilet paper here was well cased, as opposed to sitting on the top shelf like it is at a lot of bathrooms like this. TP was decent, but decent considering that a place like Walden Pond might be prone to not having toilet paper at all because it might make for some waste/pollution.Grade: 6 out of 10

Cleanliness: For a place with a surprisingly minimal staff, the restroom was kept pretty clean. Perhaps this is due to the nature of the folks who visit Walden Pond (Pun!). Either way, bathroom is in decent shape.Grade: 7 out of 10

Scent: Once I was aware of the recycling system and lack of water in the toilet, I was shocked that there wasn't a stench. Have you ever pooped in Europe? They often have a bit of a shelf in the toilet where the poop lands. It's not that great of an idea from a scent standpoint. The folks here have managed to do a great job without using water.Grade: 8 out of 10

Flush: Well, there wasn't one. But, you certainly shouldn't be embarrassed either. Kind of new ground for Poopin' Around Town. I guess we'll go with a decent default with bonus points added for their concern for their environment.Grade: 8 out of 10

Aesthetics: This is a very plain, yet informative restroom. While walking in you'll certainly have some reading material regarding the way the bathroom works. otherwise, very blah and bland, which as a matter of preference, is not too good for me. I like my bathrooms to be a little bit busy in that sense.Grade: 6 out of 10

The Bottom Line: Walden Pond is certainly worth a visit, and if you need to relieve yourself, I'd suggest you do so on your way in. Otherwise, I'm not too aware of any other 'official' bathrooms. The bathroom itself is interesting and easily accessible. On a nicer summer afternoon, there might be a bit of a wait. Otherwise, you're in the clear.